The present invention relates generally to the use of optical scanning wands with fixed bar code scanners and, more particularly to an electrically isolated interface for coupling electric output signals representative of a bar code scanned by an optical wand to a fixed bar code scanner.
Point of sale bar code scanner systems are becoming more and more common in a wide variety of stores, both in the United States and abroad. Such systems scan and detect UPC, EAN, and JAN bar codes to provide not only pricing information for the sale of identified products, but also to provide data for inventory control, marketing analysis and the like. Such point of sale scanner systems are typically incorporated into a counter top. A sales clerk sweeps bar coded items across an input window of the scanner system through which laser scanning beams are projected to detect and read the bar codes.
While such fixed bar code scanners are very convenient for a large majority of products sold by many stores. Particularly grocery stores, more and more products, either due to the nature of the product or the packaging of multiple units are difficult for a sales clerk to position over the scanner. In these instances, it is most convenient to have an optical scanning wand associated with the fixed scanner such that data generated by moving the scanning wand over a bar code are passed to the fixed scanner the same as if the bar code was read by directly passing the bar code over the fixed scanner's input window.
Unfortunately, most of the fixed bar code scanners which are presently available and in use have no provision for connecting an optical wand to the scanners system and adding an electrical connection to such scanners is prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for interfacing an optical wand to a fixed scanner with no electrical interconnection to permit an optical wand to be used to gather data for use by the fixed scanner.